The University of Nebraska Board of Regents on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution stating the university’s intent to work with the Omaha Community Foundation with the goal of admitting the foundation as a governing member of Nebraska Medicine.
In July of 2024, Clarkson Regional Health Services announced its intent to withdraw membership from Nebraska Medicine as it shifted away from healthcare management. Clarkson and the university have shared member-governance of what is now Nebraska Medicine since the healthcare system was founded in 1997.
After Clarkson announced plans to step away from Nebraska Medicine, numerous philanthropic organizations reached out to the Board of Regents to express their interest in ensuring Nebraska Medicine remains a world leader in healthcare.
The resolution, approved unanimously during the board’s regular June meeting, also allows for the appointment of two members representing the Omaha Community Foundation to the Nebraska Medicine board for an interim period spanning from July 1 through Oct. 1, replacing board members currently representing Clarkson Regional Health Services. The university and the Omaha Community Foundation will also develop amended articles and bylaws.
During the meeting, Regent Tim Clare of Lincoln called the resolution “the biggest decision that I have made in my entire 18-year career.”
Clare thanked the Omaha philanthropic community for ongoing support of the university, which has transformed facilities and programs across all four university campuses and the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture.
“Without the philanthropic support over the years, we would not be where we are,” he said.
“We are very grateful to the Omaha Community Foundation for its willingness to partner with us during the months ahead and hopefully thereafter,” said NU President Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D. “Their well-respected role as one of the largest and most successful community foundations in the nation, representing thousands of individual donors and numerous private and family foundations to serve the entire state, is a perfect fit as we work together to sustain the continued success of Nebraska Medicine.”
“We are excited about the opportunity to work with the Omaha Community Foundation to support the continued success of Nebraska Medicine and further our shared mission of transforming lives through extraordinary patient care, education and research,” said H. Dele Davies, MD, interim chancellor of UNMC whose appointment to chancellor, effective July 1, was also approved at the meeting. “We are deeply grateful for Omaha’s philanthropic community and its longstanding commitment to helping UNMC, Nebraska Medicine and the people of Nebraska thrive.”